Knights of the Old Republic: Chaos Rises
by Dragon Ace
Summary: This story takes place after the battle on the Star Forge. Revan and his friends have enemies that await them. plzzz R
1. The Return

Hey guys, this is my first fan fiction so please don't judge me too hard. It involves the game KOTOR and later on KOTOR 2 will be brought in… somehow. I don't really have anything to say, besides… thanks for your time and enjoy my first piece of writing… ^_^

_DISCLAIMER: This story is a fan fiction. Lucas Arts, Bio Ware, and Obsidian entertainment are the original creators of Star War: Knights of the Old Republic. This story is has NOTHING to do with the next game or the online game THE OLD REPLUBLIC._

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

**Chaos Rises**

**Chapter I: The Return**

The Jedi code:

_There is no emotion, there is peace._

_There is no ignorance, there is knowledge._

_There is no passion, there is serenity._

_There is no death, there is the Force._

Many Jedi have found this code difficult to follow. Some have been exiled and some have fallen into the dark side because of this code. Many people from the galaxy believed it was the Jedi Order that led the galaxy to conflicts that the Republic had against with the Sith. The Republic had believed this greatly, especially the politics -- the Senate -- they would blame the Jedi Order for new rises of the Sith, just as they did for the rise of the Revan and Malak. Even though the Jedi Order was blamed, they kept quiet and protected the galaxy along with the Republic.

Although, the Senate sees the Jedi as code breakers; there are still many Jedi that follow the Jedi code significantly. Some of these Jedi has been regarded as the new heroes of the galaxy by the Republic. They celebrate for the victory, but they wait -- they wait for another fall -- they believe these heroic Jedi will turn on the galaxy and join the Sith -- maybe not now, but eventually they will.

That is what the public believes… and so does the Senate.

Silence was heard after the explosion. The republic ships withdraw from what was left of the Star Forge back to Coruscant. The Ebon Hawk and its crew found themselves floating in space with no course. After Malak was defeated, Revan was left injured and exhausted; Bastila was worn out by her battle meditation from assisting the Republic fleet. This left Jolee and Juhani to mend the injuries of the crew, using their force and also medpacs that Jolee had put together. The crew didn't seem to have any life-threatening wounds, which gave Revan a huge relief; he would've killed himself if he saw his friends die in front of him.

Carth was blasted in the arm which gave him a burnt gash, Juhani was burnt by the blade of a lightsaber from a dark Jedi on her left forearm. Jolee had his left leg cut by a vibroblade a sith assassin had. Canderous was shot in the leg and slashed across the chest, giving him a burnt mark and a deep scar. HK was hardly blasted at, since he was defending the ship, but Revan insisted to take a look at him later. T3 stayed in the Ebon Hawk repairing the ship, so no harm was done on the little droid. What surprised Revan the most was Mission and Zaalbar, they were not scratched by the tiniest bit. He believed that the two had been working as a team on Taris for so long that they had backed themselves up in battle, saving each other from blasts and swings. Bastila was being treated by Juhani in the port dormitory. She didn't have any wounds besides the remembered pain from Malak's torture. Revan had several slashes on his body and had blood tricking down his head, he found it difficult to just stand. He laid in the medbay as Jolee treated his wounds.

"You're a mess!" the old ex-Jedi yelled.

Revan could only give him a smile, telling him he was okay. Jolee started treating his bloody head that had been smashed against the metal walls and from metals several times by Malak's force push. Not to mention he had his legs and arms burnt by the red lightsaber too, he was just glad his head didn't roll down to Malak's foot.

"How's he doing?" said a voice at the medbay door.

"Bah~ He'll live. Didn't think Malak would wound him _this_ bad. You should've seen what he looked like an hour ago!"

"Neither did I. Whenever I was standing next to him in battle, he's always there to finish it."

_Oh, it's Carth. _Revan had thought, knowing his best friend had come to check on him.

"Tell when he wakes up, okay? I wanna see where we're heading next," the pilot finished, with the sound of footsteps heading out of the doorway.

Jolee left the medbay to check up on the other crew members, leaving an all bandaged up Revan on the bed, with a towel covering his eyes. Jolee spotted Canderous down the hallway, sitting down with a leg stretched out on the floor and a knee up close to his chest. His wounds seemed to be treated well, but Canderous showed an expression that described his pain more than anything else. No one on the ship had ever seen the great Mandalorian suffer an injury like this before. He was in the worst condition, besides Revan. Jolee was told that it had taken ten minutes for Canderous to clot his blood on his chest. From the looks it he wasn't able to walk either. He had never really spoken to Canderous before; all he knew was that Canderous was a mandalorian and a person with honor.

"How's it going… uh… Canderous?" asked Jolee.

"Ha! I've been in more battles than you can imagine old man. You don't need to concern about me," the Mandalorian answered in his usual cool tone, not showing the least bit of pain.

Jolee nodded and headed out the garage to see Mission. After what seemed like 3 hours, Jolee had finished checking on everyone and returned to the medbay, finding Revan awake in the bed. Revan was looking at all the bandages wrapped around him. He had most of his chest in white straps; his right thigh was covered in white too. He held his head to shake off the sudden dizziness; he felt more straps wrapped around his forehead.

"I thought you'd never wake up, kid."

"How's everyone else?" the former Dark Lord asked weakly in his Coruscanti accent, as though he didn't hear Jolee's comment.

"You want a report, huh? Well…" Jolee went off telling him the injuries of his crew and that they were fine for now and needed more specialized treatment.

After Jolee had finished, Revan grabbed his robes and dressed himself covering the bandages on his body. He felt weak in the legs and held onto anything he could find as he walked to the cockpit. He found Carth sitting in the pilot's chair sleeping. Revan quietly sat down on the empty co-pilot's seat, not wanting to wake Carth up. He knew that everyone was exhausted from the battle about 7 hours ago and needed rest. There wasn't any noise in the ship -- except for the hyperdrive -- for another 3 hours.

"Ebon Hawk. Can you read us Ebon Hawk?" called the transmitter.

Waking both the pilot and the former Dark Lord at the cockpit, they answered the transmitter.

"Carth Onasi here."

"I'm glad I found you, Carth. This is Admiral Dodonna. Are you able to meet with us on the planet, Lehon where the Temple of the Ancients is?" Dodonna asked.

"We'll be there in 3 hours," Revan cut in, "Over and out."

Carth gave Revan a questioned glance, expecting him to explain what he was doing. Nothing was said for about a minute, until Carth couldn't take it any longer.

"Would you tell me what's going on?"

"I'm not sure, by the sounds of it; the admiral seems to be giving us a celebration of some sort." Revan answered.

"You know more than that, Phili-Rev…"

"You can call me Revan. And I only know as much as you do. We'll have to see what they're planning for us on Lehon. Besides they're the Republic fleet, what can happen?"

The answer appeared to satisfy Carth -- at least for now. He hoped he won't be _left out of the loop_ when they arrive on Lehon, the planet of the Rakata.

Revan went around the ship informing everyone that they were returning to Lehon and that the whole crew was to gather together at the Temple of the Ancients including the droids. When he entered the port dormitory, he spotted Bastila asleep. He had been trying to avoid her for the past 10 hours; he didn't know what to say to her after their fight on the Star Forge. Even though he had helped her come back to the light by using their love for each other, he wasn't entirely sure if she felt the same way he did. He watched her sleep peacefully for about 10 minutes, until Bastila woke.

"Philius!" she gasped, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Uh… not long. Just letting you know, we're about to land on Lehon. Everyone needs to gather together." He left quickly after informing her; afraid that she would tell him things he did not want to hear.

The whole crew exited the Ebon Hawk via loading ramp onto the shores of Lehon. Carth could see Canderous stumbling a bit, so he hung Canderous' arm over his shoulder to ease the walk. Carth was expecting him to blast him, but instead he said _thanks_. Revan guessed it was because of the battles the two had been in together, that their friendship had grown a little. Jolee watched Revan closely afraid of him falling over, since his wounds haven't recovered. Bastila was fine, but Revan insisted Mission to watch over her. The crew found their way up to the temple, where they discovered a crowd of republic soldiers and the native species of Lehon -- the Rakata.

"I'm glad you made it, Philius." Dodonna said walking over to them from the stairs of the temple.

"What is this?" Carth asked surprised like the rest of the crew.

"We're a bit behind schedule, follow me and you'll see." The admiral replied.

The crew followed the Admiral to the temple stairs, where they could look down on the crowd of republic soldiers and the Rakata. Master Vander also joined them on the stairs of the temple.

"From Coruscant to the Outer Rim, you will be known heroes to the Republic. I present each of you the _Cross of Glory._" Dodonna rewarded.

The crowd clapped and cheered nonstop.

"I love you," Revan suddenly said to Bastila, over the loud cheering.

"I-I love you too," Bastila replied, "with all my heart."

Revan was stunned by the reply, he had thought he'll never hear this from the girl he loved, "Y-you're not afraid to love?"

"After all this? No. Nothing would feel safer than to be loved by you," the Jedi answered looking at Revan's golden brown eyes.

After 5 minutes of constant clap and cheer, the crowd finally calms. The Rakata left for their homes and the Republic soldiers boarded their ship. Admiral Dodonna gave her regards with one last salute and boarded. Master Vander also congratulated the crew for the victory and said that the Jedi Masters would be expecting them back on Dantooine.

Once the ceremony ended with everyone departed, Revan and his friends prepared a bon fire on the shore where they first crashed; celebrating the victory they had against the Sith Lord, Malak. Drinking the last of the Tarisian ale they had stored on the ship along with other drinks. They talked and laughed trying to forget the pain they had from the injuries. When nightfall came, the crew stumbled their way back onto the ship, leaving a pile of ash on the sandy shore.

***

Once they boarded the ship, most of the crew collapsed in their rooms -- Mission was the only one that was awake besides the droids, because she didn't drink any of the ale. She helped her friends onto the bed with great difficulty. Making sure the wounds on Canderous and Revan didn't reopen and changing bandages on the others.

Mission walked back to the port dormitory where it was the _girl's dormitory_ and collapsed in her bed after a tiring night of helping and checkups.

_Help! Someone help! No! Don't kill me, please! I'll give you all my credits, the ancient artifacts I found! Just don't kill me! AHHHHHHH!_

Waking up, drenched in sweat, Revan felt a great disturbance in the force. Someone died and not just one person, there were many. He sat on the edge of the bed, his head held in his hands. He was thinking. Concentrating. Not noticing someone by the door, watching him.

"You felt it too," the voice said in the dark, by the door.

Revan knew who it was, but he was too pained to answer her. The wounds he had, added with the death of hundreds of people on another planet doubled the soreness he had felt.

"W-who killed them?" he asked softly.

"I don't know, but whoever it was, he would be a threat to the galaxy. We must inform the Jedi Masters," she answered.

"Yes, but not tomorrow." Revan answered.

Both of them knew that only they could feel the disturbance because of their bond. Something only Revan could feel and that, flowed through to Bastila. The Jedi Masters would have felt nothing, at least not yet. The two Jedis sat in the main hold unable to sleep after the disturbance. It was quiet for 10 minutes -- both of them thinking about different things.

"I-I haven't really said anything to you after you found out you were the former Dark Lord of the Sith," Bastila began.

There was a long pause before neither of them spoke,

"I want to apologize for keeping this secret from you. The Council had come to the point of exiling the Jedi that reveals your secret. Being a Jedi…"

"Is everything to you," Revan cut in, "To be honest, I was annoyed at first. The fact that the person I had loved didn't tell me; even after she had said she loved me. But I could never hold a grudge against you."

"I-I thought you would've had a different response," Bastila said, "I didn't expect you to be so… so calm."

Revan only chuckled at the response Bastila gave, "You wouldn't be saying that if you saw me after me and Carth escaped from the Leviathan."

"I am sorry, I agonized you for not telling you your identity," Bastila said, looking down on the floor, not daring to look into Revan's eyes.

"My past is nothing. I can't remember a thing. All that matters now is you. If it makes it easier, you can call me Revan." he said, holding Bastila's head up.

"I think Revan sounds better than Philius too," she smiled.

They lessened the distance between them, their heads came in close. Their lips were only millimeters away, both their hearts beating quickly.

"Who the hell turned the lights on?" asked a voice, walking towards the main hold.

Bastila pushed Revan away hurriedly, pretending nothing happened.

"Carth. Good morning," Bastila greeted hesitantly.

"Did I interrupt? Uh… please do continue, just pretend I was never here."

"No! We were just discussing what we were going to do today," Revan replied.

The three of them, got themselves a cup of caffa and discussed about flying to Dantooine. Once everyone woke, Revan gathered them in the main hold. He explained that they were returning to Dantooine and that they would get proper treatment for everyone's injuries, mentioning how well Jolee and Juhani had temporarily treated them.

"Ready when you are captain," Revan said punching in the coordinates.

They left the Rakata planet and went into hyperspace in the direction of the Jedi enclave on Dantooine.


	2. The Next Mission

_DISCLAIMER: Like I said in the previous chapter, this is only a fan fiction. Lucas Arts, Bio Ware, and Obsidian entertainment are the original creators of Star War: Knights of the Old Republic._

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

**Chaos Rises**

**Chapter II: The Next Mission**

Since the victory of the Republic, the galaxy was filled in peace from the Core Worlds to the Mid-Rim. The public believed that a new Sith Lord would not rise anytime soon -- except for two Jedis. Peace was not filled in the Outer-Rim; in fact chaos was beginning to cover a planet. With the turmoil on one of the planets, other planets have begun to feel anxious -- afraid of their planet to be the next. This report alerted the Republic and the Jedi Order. It is up to them to find out what is happening in the Outer-Rim.

The two Jedi had decided to stay silent until the time comes and when they discover who the cause of this is. For now, they fly to the planet where the Jedi expect them to be.

Carth had the Ebon Hawk docked in the Jedi Enclave landing pad, as usual. The pilot and the two Jedi padawans left the loading ramp of the ship and made their way through the Enclave. Nothing seemed to have changed, the Jedi that scolded Revan the first time he entered the place -- about not wearing Jedi robes -- was walking around the area. The three of them found their way to the Enclave Courtyard. They discovered Masters Zhar, Vrook, Vander and Dorak gathered in a circle discussing -- about the defeat of Malak it would seem. The trio excused themselves for interrupting while the masters spoke.

Zhar was the first one to greet the trio, congratulating them on completing a difficult quest. He gave Revan a pat on the back, showing him how proud he was with his new padawan -- that he had only trained for weeks. Although Zhar was pleased with the outcome of the quest, Vrook seemed quite disappointed. Vander began questioning Bastila's actions during the mission in particular, the battle on the Star Forge.

"Malak was killed by me. I defended myself and found him pierced by my lightsaber. Bastila had nothing to do with it," Revan explained.

"Were we talking to you, Padawan Hawker!?" Vrook asked furiously.

"I'm afraid, Master Vrook that you were not even talking. It was Master Vander who was questioning our actions of Malak's defeat," Revan retorted.

Master Zhar halted the commotion by giving Revan and his friends an unexpected mission to complete. They were told to report to the High Council of Coruscant after they had accomplished this mission. Bastila nodded and turned for the exit; Revan however stood there, trying to hide his anger.

"You are concerned, Padawan Hawker?" Vander asked.

"You expect us to complete another mission with half of my friends injured and on the verge of death!?" Revan spat, holding onto his chest.

Carth and Bastila heard the uproar and ran beside Revan, calming him down. After Revan had exploded, he felt light headed and his legs became weak. The next thing he saw was darkness.

***

The former Dark Lord could not feel his feet on the ground nor could he feel his back on a bed. He felt water surrounding him. Opening his eyes slowly, he saw bubbles rising from his oxygen mask. _Kolto… _Revan thought. He turned his head slightly and saw Canderous in the tank next to him; he smiled, knowing that the Mandalorian would be fine. Not long later, the water was released from Revan's tank and he fell onto the floor. He found himself fully recovered, no scars or bruises. He spotted Carth sitting on the medical bed, staring at him.

"You might want to quit looking at me," Revan said in his usual Coruscanti accent.

"I can't believe that only took a day! You look like you've never been hurt!" Carth shrieked, patting on Revan's shoulder.

Canderous was also released from his tank, fully recovered too. Revan dressed into his dark robes and Canderous in a mandalorian armor. Carth led the way out of the Medical facility, saying their thanks to the doctor and back on to the Ebon Hawk. The crew was waiting for the three to return, in the main hold. There, Revan and Bastila explained where they were going next, but told them if they wanted to leave, they were most welcome to. However everyone protested, so they left the planet together for their next mission -- destroy all the Star Maps.

"Wait! What about the Star Map on Dantooine?" Revan asked just as they left the planet.

"It's already blasted into pieces. Me, Bastila and Juhani already went to that creepy old ruin," Jolee explained.

With that, the crew rested for a while before landing on the next planet.

The Ebon Hawk descended onto the desert floor of East Dune, Tatooine. Revan decided to take HK and Bastila with him to destroy the Star Map, so they walked a few meters to where the cave located. Since the dragon was already dead, they had no problem going into the cave. Revan gave the map a few slices with his blue lightsaber, HK gave it a few blasts and lastly Bastila planted a couple different grenades and mines and left the cave. Without the three of them looking back, they knew the cave collapsed with the Star Map, blown into pieces.

Revan plotted in the coordinates for Korriban, as Carth took off.

***

While travelling to the Sith planet, Revan walked around the ship to kill some time. He noticed that Bastila wasn't in the co-pilot's seat, thus he went around looking for her; he expected to find her in the port dormitory but she wasn't there. _Where is she?_ Revan thought. Bastila hadn't talked to Revan even when they were on Tatooine, it was like she was purposely ignoring him. He didn't understand, and needed to ask her.

"She's in the communication room," Jolee shouted from the medbay, after seeing Revan walking up and down the hallway.

Revan nodded thanks and walked towards the communication room. Jolee was right, Bastila was there. She was watching holograms of what seemed like a discussion between Dorak, Vrook and herself. Revan stood silently watching it with her, trying to hide his presence.

_Do you really think Revan has truly changed? He was surrounded in anger before he fainted_, said the Dorak hologram. _The nature of ones self cannot change._

_I agree with Master Dorak. It seems he still doesn't know who he is yet. I think it is wise to let this secret die with us when the time comes. _Vrook's hologram said.

_Master, if you have not forgotten, he did follow the light before he fell -- I believe that is his true nature. I do not believe keeping this secret from him is… wise. What if he angers when he finds out? I have seen him following the path of the light during our journey. He is a changed man._ Bastila's hologram protested.

_We cannot risk him knowing. If he discovers the truth, there may be a great chance of him returning to the dark side as the Sith Lord, _Vrook spat.

_What if he already knows? _Bastila said softly.

_He will not. And you will not speak of this when you complete your next mission, my padawan!_ Vrook replied, _once this mission is over, I will ask the High Council to dismiss him from the Jedi Order._

_Master, you cannot dismiss someone because you fear them of returning as the Dark Lord! _Bastila disapproved.

_I agree with Padawan Shan. It is unwise for the Jedi Council to dismiss him for this matter_, Master Dorak said.

"My master still believes you have no knowledge of who you are," Bastila began with her back behind him, "Why didn't you say anything about it when you met them. You would have a lot of questions."

"What does it do even if I do know about my past? I'll still be me." Revan said.

"Don't you want to know what you were like before losing your memory?" Bastila asked turning around.

"No," Revan replied waiting a while before he continued, "Now I have a question for you. Why have you been avoiding me?"

"I-I… I'm trying to keep my distance from you. I think Master Vander knows I have feelings for you." There was a short silence before Bastila went on, "If the High Council knows about our… relationship, they will either separate or exile us. I don't want that to happen. Can we keep our distance, for now?"

"But even if you keep your distance from me, they'll still know through the force. We cannot hide our emotions."

"That is why I am trying to avoid you so I don't fall for you even more! I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shouted at you. Can you leave me for a moment, please?"

Revan walked away as she wished and joined Carth in the cockpit. Carth had heard everything they said in the communication room, he was certain that his friend didn't want to talk about it, for the time being.

Carth landed the ship on the Sith planet, Korriban. This time, Revan took Mission and Canderous with him to destroy the third Star Map. Revan lead the way, running through the _Valley of the Dark Lords_ to the tomb of Naga Sadow. Entering the tomb, Revan was prepared for the traps that awaited him once again. He had gone through them three times if you include his past. They bypassed the defenses and came across three terentateks. Mission gave a worried look, showing Revan the expression of how-am-I-supposed-to-kill-that-thing.

Revan ignited his two customized blue lightsabres, Canderous pulled out his own blaster that had been modified several times, Mission also gripped her personalized blade tightly. Spinning the lightsaber in his hand, Revan force jumped and stabbed a terentateks in the back, with Canderous backing him up, blasting at the creature. Mission also ran up to the injured terentateks and sliced it using her critical attack. Revan stood up on the back of the creature, gave his lightsabers a spin, and then he chopped the head off using a cross with both blades.

"One down, two to go!" Mission yelled enthused.

Jumping off the dead body of the creature, Revan pierced his blades into the next terentateks that attacked them. Not moving an inch as the blades burnt the creature's internal organs. Hearing the creature screech in pain, Revan pulled out his saber and sliced its head with one swing of his right blade. Mission and Canderous were already attacking the last beast. They didn't seem to have a difficult fight, but to ensure there were no injures, Revan gave himself another force jump and slashed it into halves.

"You just ruined my fun!" Canderous complained.

"You'll have more of that later. We need to hurry, before more of those appear!"

They ran through the corridor of the tomb path, until finally entering the tomb itself. The star map was located in the middle of the room, just as Revan remembered. Taking out a couple of mines and grenades, Revan set them up and rushed out of the entrance, before the entire tomb collapsed on them. The three were puffing from the life or death run, lying on the dusty ground to catch their breaths.

They returned to the docking bay and boarded the ship covered in dust. Carth flew off as soon as the three boarded, knowing that the explosion caused a huge commotion in the Sith Academy.

***

Mission hurried to the refresher that was located in the starboard dormitory once she boarded the ship. Revan changed back into his old republic scout clothes to wash his Jedi robes. Canderous didn't care about the dust, but Bastila threw him a new set of clothes so that the ship wouldn't be covered in dirt.

Revan spotted Bastila in the communication room again, after he had gotten changed. He understood that their relationship had its limits, but it seemed to him that Bastila wasn't even taking the slightest chance of letting the Council know.

"We will keep our distance from each other, for now. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop loving you," Revan said from the doorway.

"I am glad you thought it through. It'll be best if I stay on the ship for the next few planets." Bastila replied

They joined Carth in the cockpit, preparing for take off to their next destination, Manaan.

The Ebon Hawk landed in the Republic docking bay of the water world, Manaan. Revan insisted that Carth, Juhani and Jolee to re-search the fourth Star Map. Revan had told them how to access the Star Map through Roland Wann the leader of the Republic Embassy of Manaan. Before they left, Revan handed a bottle of solution to Carth and said he'll need it. The trio left the ship for the Embassy in search for the Star Map.

"Roland Wann? This is Revan. I have a request."

***

Carth didn't understand what was going on. He knew Revan destroyed the Kolto Harvester Machine that the Republic had secretly established, in order to scare the progenitor away. Even though the machine was destroyed, Roland Wann did not blame, since he helped them solve the mystery of people missing down in the Hrakert Rift. So why isn't Revan accompanying them? Carth felt unease whenever his thought drift to this question, but he trusted his friend -- for once. The trio entered the East Central of Ahto City after passing through the West Central where the docking bay was located. Carth followed the map on his datapad showing him where the Republic Embassy was. It was when they turned a corner; Carth spotted the Republic symbol supposing that it was the Embassy. The door slid open and the three saw several republic soldiers working. They walked down the stairs and approached a desk where a bold, dark skinned, grey bearded person sat behind.

"Welcome to Manaan, I am Roland Wann. I shall help you in anyway I can during your stay here, Republic soldier," Roland said rising from his seat.

"Republic soldier? I haven't reported myself to the Republic since the Endar Spire was attacked. I'm Carth, by the way. Carth Onasi. This is Jolee Bindo and this is Juhani," Carth introduced.

"So you're Carth, aye? One of the best pilots the Republic has. Revan asked me to give you permission to use the submarine to travel down to the Hrakert Rift. Please follow me," Roland informed.

The three friends of Revan followed the Embassy leader. Carth had thought it would've been difficult to prove himself as a friend of Revan's, but it seemed that his friend had got to Roland before he did. Carth began to grow more suspicious of what Revan had in mind. It wasn't normal for Revan to miss something like a Star Map explosion under the sea.

_He's gonna have a lot of explaining to do_, Carth thought.

Roland led the trio to the back of the Embassy where a submarine was docked. He showed Carth how to pilot the transport before they boarded.

"We're working on the Kolto Harvester Machine down there, so make sure you don't go blasting at the workers," Roland joked, "Good luck."

Carth gave a chuckle as he nodded and entered the submarine after Jolee and Juhani. The submarine sunk under the water and propelled towards the facility the Republic was re-establishing. They docked where Revan, Bastila and Mission had docked last time and saw workers repairing the damage that had been done by the mad Selkath. Jolee asked for directions of the Star Map, but no one seemed to know what he was talking about.

"Damn workers. Don't even know what's around the place when they've been here for 3 months," Jolee mumbled.

After asking about ten workers with no answer, Jolee gave up and searched each door they went past. They came across a sealed door with water leaking out of it.

"You… uh… know how to open this door, Carth?" Jolee asked.

Before Carth gave an answer, he searched the room for swim suits and oxygen masks. He came upon a locked footlocker in the corner of the room. Smashing it open, he found a set of swim suit with a fully filled oxygen mask. He looked at Jolee then to Juhani.

"There's only a set," Carth notified.

The trio looked at each other for 5 minutes, deciding who should swim outside on the ocean bed to destroy the Star Map, which is probably guarded by the progenitor. With a huge sigh, Carth volunteered to walk on the ocean floor. Jolee gave pat on the lads back and shook his hand. Juhani gave a was-good-knowing-you speech.

"Stop it! I-I'm not gonna die! Alright?" Carth said annoyed.

He suited himself up with the oxygen mask on him, gave thumbs up and unlocked the sealed door.

***

Carth felt heavy as he walked in the water, he felt the pressure against his body. He came up to a computer; he guessed it was the Kolto Harvester computer Revan used to cause the malfunction last time. He speeded up his pace when he saw the Star Map up ahead. Suddenly, he felt a drip of sweat trickling down his face. The progenitor was still there. He remembered that Revan only scared it away last time, so of course it'll be back after a while. Carth had to find a way to either kill it or scare it off. He went back to the computer and tapped a few keys to see if was still functioning.

The harvester wasn't functioning, so the only solution was to kill it with toxins. The pilot grabbed the toxins he had on him for emergency uses and inserted it into the computer. As he saw the options coming up on the screen for toxin release, he remembered Revan giving him a bottle of solution. Carth pulled the toxin bottle out from the computer and put it back into his pocket. He found the solution Revan had given him, _Progenitor weakness. Warning: Only to be eaten by Progenitor. _Carth read. He didn't know what it meant, but now he had a way of killing the creature or doing whatever the solution does. Carth walked back to where he saw the shark and made obvious movements for the creature to notice him. Once the progenitor saw Carth, it swam towards him. This was Carth's chance; he threw the bottle in the direction of the creature, hoping it'll open its mouth to eat him. Carth ran towards the entrance of the facility once he saw the shark swallow the bottle, hoping for it to react before he was killed. When he reached the door, he couldn't feel the presence of the shark. Carth carefully walked back to the computer and saw the progenitor lying on the sea bed.

_That's the first time I've seen a fish lie on the ocean floor. _Carth said to himself.

The Star Map was not far from him now, only two meters away. He placed mines around the Star Map and grenades on it, hoping they'll work in water. After setting the time, Carth ran back to the computer and waited for the explosion. After 10 seconds, nothing was seen where the Map was before, there was just floating particles rising or falling. With a smirk, he returned to the facility where Jolee and Juhani waited.

***

They floated back up onto the surface of the Republic Embassy to find Revan and Roland waiting for them. They had troubled expressions on their faces. It seemed like they had an argument not to long ago.

"Is there something up?" Carth asked confused.

"You didn't tell me you were destroying the Star Map!" Roland spat, "You could've killed the progenitor if you exploded the star map. Good thing you thought it through, unlike your friend here."

"What are you talking about? The Star Map _is_ destroyed," Carth explained.

"What? How did you get pass the creature? You killed it didn't you! I'm contacting the…."

"Carth, did you use the bottle of solution I gave you?" Revan asked, before Roland could finish.

"Yeah, if I didn't remember what you gave me, there would've been dead fish floating by now." Carth said.

"There you go Roland. He didn't poison the water. And he didn't kill the creature either. The solution was a progenitor sleeping drug. I created it while we were travelling. No harm done."

"You better hope it doesn't die, it's the major source of kolto. I will be contacting the Senate if something happens," Roland said.

"Thank you for your help, Roland. It'll be nice working with you again," Revan said, like the whole argument didn't happen.

Carth, Jolee, Juhani and Revan headed back to the docking bay where the Ebon Hawk was. Carth watched Revan, not letting his eyes off him as they ran back. He had more questions now. Why was he with Roland when they came back up to the surface? Why didn't he go down with them? All these questions seemed to bother Carth more and more. He wanted answers, _real_ answers and not just excuses.

"I'll tell you about everything when we get back to the ship," Revan said as though he was reading Carth's mind.

***

Carth followed Revan to the cockpit where Bastila was as well. Revan waited for awhile to speak -- thinking of how to explain to Carth, until Bastila broke the silence.

"Carth… W-we want you to know this before anyone else on the crew did. Me and Revan, felt a disturbance in the force." Bastila explained.

"What does that have to do with Revan not accompanying us to the Hrakart Rift?" Carth retorted, "Why do you guys always hide stuff from m-…us?"

"This is what happened; I went around the planet to find information about any nearby planet under attack. I thought it'll be better if we split up to make things quicker. I can feel the disturbance more on Manaan than any other planet we've been to. It seems that Nolar was attacked by an unknown fleet two weeks ago. They haven't shown themselves since then. That only took me about three hours, because this is a water planet and most species live underwater, the only place that is land is basically Ahto City. You took about four hours to destroy the Star Map. I decided to visit the Embassy and found Roland, who asked me why you went down there. I told him, we were on a mission to destroy the Star Maps and then he went mad! Does that explain all your questions?"

"Uh… I guess it does. I'm sorry about my attitude before," Carth apologized.

"Just don't tell anyone about it yet," Revan said, "Now that everything's explained, Kashyyyk is our next stop."

Carth got to his pilot seat and tapped a few buttons and off goes the Ebon Hawk to their next destination -- Kashyyyk.

Canderous was sitting in the garage, getting frustrated with the relationship between the Jedi princess and the Jedi knight. He didn't understand why Bastila kept pushing Revan away, when she loved him. And why Revan kept his distance, when he too loved her. The mandalorian was going to set something up for them, even if he had no experience about love before.

"Query: You seem annoyed, meat bag. What is wrong?" HK asked.

"Nothing, just thought of something very interesting," Canderous chuckled evilly.

***

The crew was notified that they had another 8 hours before they arrive on Kashyyyk. Bastila decided to take a shower in the port dormitory refresher. Revan on the other side of the ship, also stepped into the refresher of the starboard dormitory.

"Argh! T3, there's no water in this refresher. Could you come and check on it?" Revan yelled from the doorway still wearing his scout uniform.

"Hey, Revan. I just checked the port dormitory refresher, looks like no one's in there." Canderous informed.

"You're sure? I don't want the whole crew to think I'm a pervert."

"Can you hear water running? No," Canderous stated.

Revan nodded with agreement, grabbed his washed robes and walked down the hallway to the port dormitory. What Revan didn't know was that Canderous had set this all up. He broke the water pipe on purpose while everyone was busy doing their thing and made sure Bastila was in the shower at the same time.

_Hey Jedi princess, you wanna go take a shower? The Twi'lek kid in the main hold said you were taking one before her. _Canderous lied

_I never said I'll take a shower before her. But I might as well freshen up. Tell her I'll be real quick. _Bastila said.

That was how Canderous set the two together, now all had to do was wait for a real nice act.

Bastila walked into the refresher, taking off her full-body suit behind the wall. She let her hair out and took her undergarments off. As she stepped into the shower and allowed the water to run, the refresher door slid open. Bastila didn't hear the door open because of the water running. But Revan heard the water running and yelled to see if anyone was in the shower, no one answered so he walked closer to the shower with force immunity on him. He stepped onto the wet shower tiles and his mouth dropped open. Bastila had her eyes closed under the showerhead, not noticing someone was in front of her, she was completely exposed. He ran out of the refresher, collapsing on one of the bunks, still having the figure of the beautiful Jedi princess rolling in his head.

After the water had stopped running for a while, the door slid open. Bastila dressed in her clean clothes, threw Revan's clean dark robes and towel at him and shut the door again in fury. Revan heard the door lock and he started banging the door, trying to explain why he was in there.

When no one answered, Revan changed himself into the dark Jedi robes Bastila had thrown at him, knowing that he'll have to wait until the starboard dormitory refresher water pipe was fixed for a shower.

***

When he strolled along the hallway, he realized the ship was quiet. There wasn't anyone in the garage, port dormitory, medbay and the main hold. Revan started to panic, thinking that they were under attack and his friends were taken as hostages. That was until he heard a cry of laughter from the communication room. He dashed his way there, finding the whole crew watching the camera views.

_Force! This cannot be happening, don't tell me they saw me running out the refresher in shock._

Canderous was replaying the camera view now, the moving image of Revan running out and collapsing on the bunk. Then having clothes chuck at him from the refresher, the crew burst out laughing.

"Would you turn that off?" Revan asked blushing in embarrassment.

"Look who's here. The main character," Canderous mocked.

"How'd you guys know I was taking a shower in the port dormitory anyway?" Revan asked.

"We needed to have some drama on this ship," Canderous answered, grinning.

"You set me up, didn't you!?"

"Don't sweat it; you'll be thanking me later." Canderous said, walking out the door.

The rest of the crew also followed Canderous out the door giggling. Only Carth stayed, also smiling. Revan was about to explain, when Carth stopped him.

"I know, _we all know_. Canderous set you guys up, so your relationship would get better."

"Better? _Better!?_ It's gonna get worse! Bastila is already avoiding me! Now she's gonna _ignore_ me!"

"It's not that bad. It's not like you saw her naked," Carth said.

Revan looked at him, puzzled. The look gave it all away.

"You can't be serious. You actually saw her naked?" Carth said softly.

"It wasn't my fault. The door was unlocked and the water was running, so I checked who it was and… But I ran straight out after I saw her," Revan explained, "I forgot to take my clothes out with me, and that's how she knew I was in there."

Carth's smile had disappeared. They stood there in silence thinking a way to explain to Bastila so she would listen.

Not long later, Bastila entered the communication room.

"Come on, Carth. We should be arriving on Kashyyyk soon," she said.

"Bastila," before Revan was able to talk, Bastila turned and headed for the cockpit. Carth showed a sympathetic face and followed her out.

Revan cursed himself in the communication room before they landed into the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk.

Carth descended the Ebon Hawk onto the dark floor of Kashyyyk. Mission and Zaalbar offered to go with Revan to destroy the Star Map, but he declined the offer and exited the ship by himself. Revan walked on the Shadowlands alone, thinking about what to do to get Bastila stop avoiding him _and _ignore him. He came across several kinraths, but killed them with one slice each by his saber. He had noticed how much he had improved in his skills -- not including his past – he remembered the first time he had approached a kinrath, Bastila was the one to finish them before he got severely wounded.

Revan noticed the camp that Czerka had settled in before, that was how he found the force field. He had trouble opening the force field last time, but luckily he remembered how Jolee disabled it. Deactivating the force field, Revan followed the path to where the Star Map was. He saw the computer hologram glow, but he remembered it shut-down when he accessed the Star Map. Revan walked up to it cautiously and spoke in his Coruscanti accent. The computer hologram, of course allowed access for Revan because of his past and present voice.

Revan asked about how it was able to enable itself again, but the answer was _not available_. The computer had more options than last time. There was a particular option that made Revan feel unease.

"I have a message? I want to hear it," Revan said.

Another hologram appeared, except it was not computer-like, it was a human; a human that was surrounded by dark energy. The man had his hood up, hiding his face and hair. The only thing Revan could tell from this man was that he was on the dark side of the force.

"Lord Revan, it's so nice to speak to you again. Or should I say Philius Hawker. I know the pathetic Jedi Order wiped your memory and you have forgotten everything about your sith past. But if I were you, I would be searching for answers," the man said sharply.

"Oh, and I suggest you not to destroy the Star Maps. They would be useful for me and you" the dark-sider recommended, "I shall see you soon."

With that, the hologram disappeared along with the computer. Revan thought for a while, deciding if he should destroy the Star Map; If he destroyed it, he would not be able to find the identity of that man; but if he left the star map, someone may access it again for evil activities. He walked away, hearing explosions after 2 minutes from the area the computer was found. It was obliterated.

Now, the former Dark Lord had two things to worry about; Bastila and the hologram.

***

When Revan returned to the Ebon Hawk, he saw Carth speaking to Bastila in the cockpit. He decided to leave them and lied on a bed of the starboard dormitory. After what seemed like an hour, someone walked into the dormitory.

"We can head to Coruscant now, Carth." Revan said in an annoyed tone, his body facing the wall of the dormitory. When he didn't hear a reply, he added, "Just because Bastila's ignoring me, doesn't mean I'll have to give up. And it doesn't mean I'll give you a chance either."

"Well, it seems like I came at the wrong time," the voice said, walking out the door.

"Wait! Bastila!" Revan yelled, standing up, "I didn't know it was you. I need to tell you something."

"If it's about the refresher, then Carth's already explained it."

"You mean, when I saw you guys talking in the cockpit… it was about last night?"

"I didn't expect you be jealous of Carth," Bastila said, hiding her smile, "And how did you come up with the idea that I would fall for Carth?"

"Well, he's a pretty nice guy." Revan said, waiting for another second before he continued, "A-About last night, Canderous..."

"He set us up, I know. And I also know that you ran out after you saw… Yes well, …" Bastila stopped.

Suddenly, Revan felt a slap across his face.

"What was that for?" He cried.

"Don't you think you deserve that, after what you saw?" Bastila retorted, "Come with me, I need to show you something."

Revan followed Bastila out the dormitory and found themselves in the communication room. Bastila played a hologram of them in the Jedi Enclave courtyard, talking to the Jedi masters about the battle on the Star Forge. Revan watched closely trying to pick up anything that seemed suspicious. After the hologram ended, Revan didn't see anything odd. He looked at Bastila for her to explain.

"I've been watching these for a number of times. Isn't it bizarre for them to suddenly hand us another mission when half the crew was injured?" Bastila explained.

"You think they're up to something?" Revan questioned, "But you have never questioned the Jedi Masters."

"I haven't, until my fall and redemption. I think they're trying to test us. They can feel the emotion between the two of us, not to mention what Master Vander heard at the temple."

"That's why you've been avoiding me. And is that what you've been doing for the past 2 weeks, you've been watching these?"

"That's correct. I-I don't think I can push you away any longer. It has been difficult."

Once Revan understood why Bastila was avoiding him, he released a sigh that gave out all the worries, "Then don't. We'll face the Jedi Council together."

Bastila gave a nod to answer Revan's comment. Both of them stood there gazing at each other's eyes, until Carth interrupted.

"Not trying to interrupt the romance, but we're getting a call from an unknown spaceship. And he's calling for you, Revan."

The three ran to the cockpit to see who the call was from. The hologram showed the same figure Revan saw on Kashyyyk, the man still had his hood up, covering his face. Bastila noticed cold sweat forming on the side of Revan's face.

"Revan! I told you I'll be seeing you soon. What's with the worried face?" The hologram greeted.

"Who the frack are you!?" Revan demanded.

"Why don't you ask the Jedi Council or even better, yourself," the man hissed.

Revan didn't realize this before, but he picked up an accent the man had. He had a very faint Coruscanti accent. That gave Revan the thought that, he might've known this man -- like the hologram had said -- a Jedi that was trained on Coruscant.

"What is it do you want?" Bastila butted in.

"Excuse my manners; you must be the gifted Jedi, Bastila Shan. I thought relationships were forbidden for a Jedi, or should I say two Jedi." The man sneered.

"Where are you? I want to meet you in person." Revan said.

"That wouldn't be a great idea. Besides I'm still on Nolar, the people here are of course rich; so I am just filling my pockets with credits."

"We'll ask you once more, what do you want?" Carth asked.

"Oh~ Nothing in particular. Just wanted to see if Revan asked the Jedi anything yet, but it seems like he's too busy with his girl." The man replied, "Before I go, I'll see you again soon, Revan."

The hologram disappeared, leaving Revan even more bewildered than before. Bastila walked Revan back into the starboard dormitory where Bastila could ask him something in more privacy.

Before they got to the bed, Revan collapsed rubbing and hitting his head. It didn't matter who that man was, but it mattered to him that he could feel the man was strong in the force -- the dark side of the force. If he came after Revan, he knew his friends would be in danger.

"I've seen him before," Bastila said kneeling to Revan's side.

Revan lifted his head, listening carefully to what Bastila had to say.

"He was Master Vrook's student. I think he became a Jedi knight at the age of 19. I heard he left with you to the Mandalorian Wars," Bastila informed.

"Shall we tell the Jedi Council about this sith?" Revan asked.

"I think a brief mention would be necessary."

Bastila was caught by Revan's eyes again. She couldn't stop looking at the brown eyes that gazed at her.

"You are truly hard to resist, Revan." Bastila said, "I've tried avoiding you and that only worked for a week. I feel like I'm attracted to you even more."

"Why is that?" Revan said softly, getting closer to her lips.

"I do not know. Your eyes just pull me in," Bastila said quietly, bringing her lips closer to Revan.

Revan stopped and tilted his head, giving a gentle kiss on her forehead. He smiled and got up from the floor, pulling Bastila up with him. One side of Bastila was glad Revan only kissed her on the forehead, but the other side of her craved for the kiss on her lips from Revan.

"Come on, Carth's been waiting for us, long enough." Revan said.

They joined Carth in the cockpit. Revan punched in the coordinates for Coruscant, the pilot ascended from the forest ground and Bastila assisted the take off of the ship into space. The next thing they knew, they were in hyperspace heading towards the core world to the planet Coruscant.

As they travelled in hyperspace, Revan had another talk with Bastila in the starboard dormitory. They discussed about how to hide their emotions of each other from the Jedi Council. They knew it was only a matter of time, before the Council knew about their relationship, but they couldn't risk it now. After what they've been through, after how much Revan had done to get Bastila to love him, after Bastila had fallen and redeemed. The two of them just wanted to have peace and be left alone by the Jedi code and the Council.

The two Jedi concentrated on blocking the emotional force between them, hoping that the Jedi Masters would not learn the blockage and secret between them.


End file.
